Wednesday, February 05, 2014

kids on the dock

You may have noticed extra little people showing up here and there in our posts over the past 6 months or so. We have had kid boats come and go through this marina. Some were lovely. Some, frankly, were nightmares. And we have our neighborhood landlubber kids who we always love to hang out with. But this last year we lucked in to the most fabulous neighbor kids, and I keep pinching myself and holding my breath and secretly hoping they never sail away until we are ready to sail with them.

Two lovely sisters, one a year older than Zach and one a year younger than Zach. The kids play so sweetly together, and being girls of course they are a wonderful influence on Zach in many ways as well. You would not believe how quickly he does his school work now, so that he has the chance to play with them or have lunch together. Sometimes they even do school work together.

And together they come up with such good old fashioned fun and spend all of their time outside just going and going and going.

I love how the girls are also rather "young" like Zach. It seems more and more 10 and 11 year olds act like teenagers. I really feel there is NO rush in growing up. In fact, take the slow road whenever possible. The key is finding that balance between staying innocent and yet learning independence in a positive way. My guess is that one of the reasons these girls are so lovely is because mom and dad are not Americans. Sorry fellow Americans, but we tend to overdo everything, regardless of which way we lean. Guilty as charged. It's a great centering exercise observing the balance their lovely mom and dad strike in a way I just don't see with my American friends.

The mom complimented something hand knit Naia was wearing, and I confessed it came from a friend and started to bemoan really wanting to learn to knit but not having the time. I still can only manage lumpy rows of nothingness. She looked at me so matter of fact and said, "I don't worry about that. I mean we can't do everything can we?" Think about that.

But back to the kids... the thing that really strikes me is how they interact with Naia. The three big kids could form a tight triumvirate and simply brush the little Miss aside. But they so lovingly find ways to bring her into the fold of their play. Every. Single. Time. She is often scooped up onto a back and brought along for whatever adventure they are off on around the marina. They give hugs, explain things, help her out, and even come play with her when Zach isn't home. I think that speaks volumes.

The boat life is so transient, and we know good friends will drift in and out and back again. We're so grateful to have found a nice peer group for Zach in this community, and now even here at the marina just one dock over. Pretty sweet!